‘Enough is Enough’ IFA tell council members

Senior officials of the IFA met members of Westmeath County Council last week and appealed to them to support their ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign.

They urged the councillors to do their utmost to seek a fundamental reset of how farm policy is devised and implemented in the EU and in Ireland. During the meeting about 30 farmers protested outside the building.

Frank Brady, regional chairman of the IFA, said agriculture in Westmeath contributes €1 billion to the local economy each year. There are nearly 7,000 people employed directly or indirectly in farming in the county – 16 per cent of Westmeath’s working population is involved in agri related jobs.

The average age of a farmer in Westmeath is 62 years and the average farm size is 68 acres, he said.

Mr Brady warned that if we were to go back to the landlord system, rural communities will die.

Brendan Coffey, vice-chairman of Westmeath IFA, condemned the fact that 9,000 farmers are waiting to join environmental schemes. He criticised the delays in payments, especially under the ACRES scheme. Farmers will respond to the environmental challenges if they are given the support to do so, he said.

Richard O’Brien, chairman of Westmeath IFA, read a lengthy policy document highlighting farmers’ anger and frustration at the ever-increasing administrative burden being placed on them, and the impact that is having on farm family incomes.

It claimed that the EU, the Irish government and local government are devising policies far from the farm gate with little or no consideration of the direct impact on farmers.

Mr O’Brien said CAP funding is being redirected to environmental schemes instead of additional funding being allocated.

Farmers are being asked to do much more for a lot less funding. He said the proposed Mercusor trade deal has the capacity to devastate the Irish beef sector in particular.

Mr O’Brien complained of delays in payments, most notably the ACRES scheme. He claimed there had been a complete systems failure on farm investment grant aid (TAMS) with no approvals of note granted last year.

He said farm schemes are now so complicated agri consultants are threatening to strike as they can no longer administer them.

Reductions in the nitrates derogation were imposed by the EU with no flexibility and the commission continues to threaten to remove it altogether in 2026, Mr O’Brien said.

The nature restoration law is putting further restrictions on farmers while the commission’s handling of the industrial emissions directive is farcical, he contended.

The lack of flexibility shown to tillage farmers with new regulations was also highlighted. Those farmers are struggling to meet the stipulated three crop rule due to very difficult autumn weather conditions which massively limited autumn planting, it was stated.

Emissions

The IFA representatives said agricultural emissions are not being measured fairly. On-farm measures such as anaerobic digestion and rooftop solar should count towards reducing emissions from the agricultural sector, they submitted.

Local government issues they raised included delays in the planning process that are hindering on-farm investment; the implementation of Zoned Residential Land Tax; the need for a clear protocol regarding council inspections on farms; the problem of ash dieback on rural roads; the lack of dog wardens; commercial rates on farm buildings; proposed water charges.

They asked the council to write to the president of the EU Commission, the taoiseach and the minister for agriculture, acknowledging the significant contribution the agri-sector makes to the economy and the challenges facing farmers due to the increases in the cost of doing business, regulatory costs, and cuts in basic income support for farmers.

They asked that the council call on the government to introduce no further regulations or measures that would increase costs on farms without full negotiation and agreement with the IFA.

They asked that the council call on the EU and the government to provide additional stand-alone funding, separate to the common agricultural policy, to support farmers in undertaking climate and biodiversity measures.

The IFA representatives present were Frank Brady, William Nolan, John O’Hanlon, Brendan Coffey and Richard O’Brien.

The councillors who met them were Paddy Hill, Tom Farrell, Denis Leonard, Michael Dollard, Louise Heavin, Paul Hogan, and the cathaoirleach of the council, Liam McDaniel.

The councillors said they would relay the views expressed back to their fellow council members and would support the resolution put forward by the delegation.